In the early prior art, lacrosse sticks were customarily made of wood, usually hickory, shaped by American Indians with whom the game originated. Such lacrosse sticks lacked uniformity as to quality, strength, weight, and feel in the hands of a player.
To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, great strides have been made in the recent past in the construction of lacrosse stick heads and handles. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,507,495; 3,822,062; and 3,905,088 to Tucker et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,984 to Crawford et al disclose elastomeric lacrosse stick heads and parts therefore which are highly resilient and have dramatically revolutionized the sport of lacrosse. Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,994; 4,037,841; and 4,206,918 to Lewis disclose novel plastic and metal lacrosse stick handles which have further enhanced the quality of lacrosse sticks. Accordingly, it is now common for lacrosse stick heads and handles to be interchangeable in order to suit the needs of a player or for repair of a broken head or handle.
The prior art teaches that the head and handle of a lacrosse stick are attached together by means of a pin or screw. While the prior art fastening means have proved suitable, other fastening means are desirable to allow for quicker interchange of a head and handle. Moreover, occasional problems occur with the prior art fastening means including the stripping of the head of the screw, preventing easy removal of the head from the handle, or where the hole in the handle is stripped and no longer properly engages the screw. The present invention overcomes these disadvantages of the prior art.